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To quote a popular commercial, Chiles soccer standout Emmalee Phillips is going pro in something other than sports.

Sort of.

Phillips, a senior midfielder/forward who hopes to play for St. Leo University, knew in first grade exactly what she wanted to pursue as a career.

Sports broadcasting.

This past fall, Phillips, who already anchors sports for Chiles' Wolf Center news block, spent time following around ABC 27 local sports anchors Brad Dalton and Dave Griffiths, learning the finer nuances of the profession while expanding her dream into reality.

"We tried to give her as much of what it's like to be us as possible," Dalton said. "We made sure she had experience with the camera in her hand, had her do some writing, editing— not throwing her in the deep end, but giving her a good idea of what we do on a daily basis and what the job really is besides going to games."

Being given an externship— which will pick back up again in the spring after her soccer season is done— was a gamechanger.

"It was the first time they'd ever taken a high school intern," said Phillips, finally brought on after a three-month approval process. "They told me, 'You have to behave yourself. You have to be professional. It's up to you to see if we do this again.'"

Once in, Phillips, who had also been offered an internship by Seminoles.com, quickly realized things needed to be different from her normal playful self.

"I had to stop talking and be a sponge and soak up everything they were teaching me," Phillips said. "From TV production class, I knew how to shoot video and how to edit, but there was still a lot to learn. First day, I'm there for all of 15 minutes and Dave and I were going to Jimbo Fisher's press conference."

Griffiths, a Syracuse broadcast journalism school alum who moved to Indianapolis in November to accept a position with CBS/Fox 59 to cover a professional sports market, remembers first having to indoctrinate Phillips to a sports world she may not have first anticipated.

"The initial hesitation with bringing in a high school intern is they are incredibly green," Griffiths said.

"This industry once you've been in it for a while, it's different than you expect. It's not all glitz and glamor, being on TV, and being a prominent face in the community. There's a lot of work that goes into it. Some people come in thinking the job will only increase their sports fandom, but then you realize you have to lose your passion for it as a fan."

"Being able to focus on the story of why you're there and what's happening on the field— you can't be a fan anymore— you have to think about what the questions are you would ask, the story you would tell," said Dalton in agreement.

As Phillips has adapted in-game from forward to midfield, to new teammates and coaches, to different momentums in flag football, she's had to do the same in the workplace. Versatility is something instilled in Phillips from a young age by her parents, who encouraged a well-rounded approach, be that academics or athletics. Her maturity was just one thing that stood out to her superiors.

"What's really cool about this is you see someone like Emmalee who has this insane passion this early, and it's good for even us to see someone who wants to learn, wants to be there, wants to do anything we threw at her," Dalton said. "At first she was intimidated, but then she buttoned up and went after it."

Besides prep sports, Phillips worked three Florida State football games this season, and Dalton let his prodigy film the fourth quarter, do stand-ups in the end zone and try pretend live shots. Working while friends screamed at her from the student section or while the decibels of fan volume hit her eardrums only reaffirmed her career path.

"It let me look into future and say this could be me one day," said Phillips, whose highlight was meeting ESPN College Gameday reporter Samantha Ponder and getting to talk to her about how she inspired Phillips.

"Hopefully, I'll be working the sideline one day."

From wide-eyed rookie to a composed, even veteran presence by the end, Phillips reached a new level in months. Dalton likened it to some freshmen FSU football players that only needed to get hit the first time before they realized, 'Oh yeah, I can do this.' He also sees no way she doesn't achieve her goal.

"It changed the rest of the season for them and it changed the rest of the semester for her," Dalton said.

"I think there's no doubt she will one day, because she won't let that not happen. She has that drive in her. She knows what she wants and she's going to do whatever it takes to get there and get it done."